The Fort

Dakar Academy's staff has increased significantly for the 2011-2012 school year. This is a good thing. It means that I get to teach what I like and other teachers get to teach what I don't like. Fortunately, those other teacher don't necessarily feel the same way about the classes I avoid...like MATH.

In addition to changing my teaching schedule (ever so slightly), the larger staff has led to some housing changes. Last spring Kari and I were asked to consider leaving our smaller two bedroom apartment to room with two other young female teachers in a 4 bedroom apartment. We moved from the Sandcastle, a DA apartment building, directly across the street. Our building has 3 or 4 other DA families and has been affectionately dubbed "The Fort". This name was inspired by the old fort behind the building, and by the association with the sand"castle".



I live with Kari, my roommate from last year, Cori, a fellow Canadian and close friend from last year, and Keren, a Korean-American. She is new to DA. Though there are four of us living together, the apartment is huge and allows us to spread out. We each have our own bathroom with a shower and bathtub. Nabrissa, the DA housing director, did an amazing job at making the place comfortable AND esthetically pleasing. We have added a few personal touches and are loving our "new digs". I can't believe I just wrote that...forgive me.

Welcome to our humble abode.


Watch that our triple-wide front door doesn't hit you as you come in...it has a tendency to close on people. This is the entrance/foyer area. It's a lovely sitting area to chat, read, or nap. My favourite feature, the funky cushions.









Continuing straight ahead, this is the dining area. We don't have a ton of cupboard space considering there are four of us, but we have some extra storage out here. We love the large table, it comfortably seats six as is, but also has an extension that doubles the size. The window creates a great cross-breeze, and looks out onto our back courtyard which is basically for hanging laundry. The walls are high for safety reasons so there's not much of a view. However, we are glad to have easily accessible clotheslines. My favourite feature of the dining room, the "coffee station" in the back left corner.





Continuing to the very back of the house is the kitchen. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and have been impressed with my cooking adventures this year. No, nothing spectacular, but a little further 'out of the box' than I tried last year. I am very excited about my recent purchase of a blender for mango smoothies...mmmm. My favourite feature in the kitchen, the washing machine (soooo convenient).





Come back to the foyer and hang a left as you leave the dining room. This is our living room and where we spend most of our time. You may recognize our GIANT furniture from last year. It fits much better in our GIANT apartment this year. We were pleased to host our first soiree this past weekend and enjoyed taking advantage of the space. My favourite feature, the TV.













Standing at the living room door, you will cross the foyer and take a quick left into my room. Kari's room is off the living room and Cori's is at the back of the house on the same side. Their rooms are the most spacious, but I am very happy with my small, cozy room. It's an improvement to feeling swallowed by the vastness of last year's. My favourite feature, my picture wall.










My bathroom really isn't much to see, but I have included it for two important reasons. Number one, I have one...all to myself! Number two, I am really proud of the simple decor. My favourite feature, the shower curtain.







That concludes the tour. Feel free to stop by anytime, we'd love to have you! For real. I mean it. Come!

Silence...

...that which is left when events unfold that leave you reeling and unsure of what to do or say next. Silence takes over, punctuating the shock. Though the news of Suzi's death has left me speechless, Suzi does not leave me speechless. In fact, there aren't enough words to contain Suzi.

I sat down to write something to honour my friend, something creative, witty, heartfelt and expressive, just like her, but anything and everything I write seems flat and unsubstantial. You can’t fit a person, a personality, like Suzi into words, which is quite fitting actually since Suzi never liked to be put in a box.

Once you met her it was impossible to forget her. It was inevitable that she would impact your life. In all honesty I don’t remember exactly when or how Suzi entered my life because she has been a fixture since my middle school days. She was my small group leader in high school and she has been challenging me ever since. Even now, 15 years later, the group has changed and evolved multiple times but we still brag about being the Best Small Group Ever. When you consider our professionally designed hand-outs, endless “detours”, inside jokes, meaningful conversations, and of course the coffee, I don’t think it’s even up for debate. We are the best small group EVER. There was no skirting around the controversial issues. I found myself driving home on a weekly basis wrestling with the personal application of our discussions. It was reading Mark Batterson’s “Wild Goose Chase” as a small group that prompted me to investigate teaching overseas and it was largely due to Suzi’s encouragement that I now find myself pursuing God’s plan for my life here in Senegal.

The depth of Suzi’s insight never ceased to amaze me. She read more than anyone else I know, and was often reading 4 or 5 books at the same time. I sometimes wonder if ebook readers were invented solely for her use. I am left wondering what I will read without my personal consultant to advise me.

One of the things I admired most was this endless thirst for knowledge, and experience. It was not at all unusual for me to show up at her place for a Saturday movie night or a Monday small-group night to be greeted by, “coffee?” followed immediately by, “have you heard of this book?”, “have you listened to this amazing song?”, “have you seen this new videoclip?” Suzi loved to expose others to her newest finds and we were always the better for it, if not simply entertained.

She was an adventurer as is evident by her many travels to New York, Ukraine, Sachigo Lake, and of course, Paris. I have never met anyone as passionate about Paris as Suzi was. She could plan your itinerary down to the meal you should order at a particular bistro on the left bank. As much as I enjoyed talking about Paris and sharing stories of our visits, it is her passion that resonates with me. Suzi was a passionate person. Even her deep, full, laugh exuded the whole-heartedness with which she embraced life.

Scarves, toile, japanese cherry blossom scent, St. Jacob’s market, Star Trek, Lug products, Jane Austen, JJ Abrams, Starbucks, the fall, even a national monument as famous as the Eiffel Tower will always carry my thoughts to my dear friend and bring a smile to my face.

She was my loyal friend and mentor. She possessed so many of the qualities I aspire to attain. She was insightful, well read, and a creative genius. Her life was an example of servant-hood and selflessness. Suzi pursued God and a closer relationship with Him relentlessly and influenced others toward the same goal. She was funny, genuine, and passionate. She dedicated herself wholeheartedly to any and all of her pursuits. She has left such an indelible mark on my life that it’s hard to know what would be left of me had she not been a part of who I have become.

I think that under different circumstances, if Suzi were grieving with us, she might find encouragement and strength in the words of her favourite poet, Rainer Maria Rilke:

Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the question themselves, as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, some day far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.

I miss you more than...miss you more.